Chalkboard paint, a car boot sale and an Obituary Notice....

Lengths of A3 paper selotaped together, to form an eight foot long writing aid, were blu-tacked to my living room wall for months (Ok, two years!) and because of the persistent rain this summer (Trade Description! Summer? Seriously?) I have spent more time in said living room, eye-balling it. Because of this, it meant that the creative side of my mind (often the inebriated side) turned its attention to those very four walls; well, one wall in particular took its fancy – Yup, the one that had the lengths of A3 paper selotaped together, to form an eight foot long writing aid!

Immediately I'm ‘Googling’- Chalkboard paint' and weighing up whether it's best to use spray or roller, masking tape, blocks or pattern. Then my mind convinces itself that ‘if I'm going to decorate the wall/s, I might as well put carpet down….though, before I do that, I could sort the skirting boards and the other walls out too!’ Naturally, a swift trip to the DIY store with a head bursting with ideas became as urgent as putting out a chip-pan fire.

"big job broke out"

A ‘big job broke out’ and as three weeks go by the carpet is ordered and a delivery date set, the 2012 Olympics have started on BBC TV and I have more motivation and energy than I can tame. I'm filling, sanding and stripping (walls) to the beat of Team GB Gold Medals and night after night I sneeze filler dust and rivers of DIY gunk run from my hair as I shower. I've even kissed goodbye to those lovely long painted nails I had, they are now short, broken and merely patch work painted with gloss paint that curiously matches the colour of the living room- skirting!

Another two weeks fly by and I have my carpet fitted, there is newly fitted skirting in place and my chalkboard 'writing wall’ is finished and ready to get not only a timeline for my screenplay written up, but also research notes and scene outlines - all in one easy and  motivating location.

As a writing aid, trust me, if you have to walk past the ‘writing wall’ throughout the day, you pay its purpose some attention!

So, there I am, my ‘writing wall’ completed (and now I’m sounding daily like Shirley Valentine, talking to the ‘Wall’) and some designated time set aside for getting this task to fruition, when another time bandit project kicks off.

I noticed a competition in one of the writing magazines to ‘write a Ghost Story in 1500-1700 words’. With Halloween approaching, I figured that the magazine must be looking to fill a themed slot and because a time trial challenge sometimes does wonders for getting motivated by working towards a static goal, I wrote some ghost story notes down. They were notes on a variation of a theme that I’ve had burrowing around inside my brain since a 16th century hotel near our home closed down. It was known to be haunted and I began to wonder what became of sprits when they were left behind.

"probably one of the biggest car boot sales we’d ever rock up to at 7am on a Sunday morning"

During this time, the ‘Real Radio North West Car Boot Sale’ had started to snowball into a big event meaning that my attentions were removed from the ‘writing wall’ and now I had to focus on helping my sister gather, clean and sort what we needed to run a profitable pitch at probably one of the biggest car boot sales we’d ever rock up to at 7am on a Sunday morning.  

On the day of the car boot sale (our first ever), a Spiritual Medium was offering personal readings - all money being donated to the supported charity. I’m unashamed to say that I’m open minded about these things so I fancied a chat with her; mostly because the only people who really know the true outcomes of the true events that my screenplay is based upon, are in fact all dead! I was curious to hear if any spirits would came forward via the Spiritual Medium, or if fate was going to offer some cliché that might just motivate me in another direction. All day I ‘ummed’ and ‘arrred’ and ‘ummed some more’ about getting in the queue to sit with the Medium.

Towards lunchtime when I had finally decided to queue and see what she might have to say, it would appear that, ironically, I was too late!

The gentleman at the back of the queue asked if I was waiting to sit with the Medium, I replied “yes” which was when he informed me that the lady in front of him "is the last to be seen” and handed me the Medium's business card in case I wanted to book a private sitting. I tried to get him to change his mind and let me see her, but he was solid and said that she was finishing for the day.

I felt a little frustrated with myself after all the umming and arrrhing and delays I’d made, but I walked away thinking that maybe , just maybe, someone was trying to tell me something and that not only was she maybe not a good Medium, but that they thought I really shouldn’t waste my money on clichés. Cognitive dissonance aside, these seemed reasonable reasons, so I just put it down to some unseen helping hands.

The thing is, one night; I strangely became a little side tracked.

Another two weeks went by and after a business trip I finally got some time at home to jot down more ideas for the ghost story competition. I wanted to work on a theme close to home, maybe something where a writer gets a bit stuck and needs some help from the deceased witnesses to the case to come forward and help.
The thing is, one night; I strangely became a little side tracked.

I initially started work on notes for my ghost themed story and should have had all screenplay thoughts put aside until the magazine competition entry was finished. But, one thing my brain doesn’t do, it’s to work in such a disciplined manner! I had mentally put any screenplay work aside whilst working on the competition entry, but out of the blue, without reason or prompt , iPad in hands, I found I was performing a procrastinating ‘Google’ search about the subject of my screenplay (I do this sometimes to check if its ‘angle’ has been picked up by anyone else)!

It was hardly coincidental that I came across an article that I’ve spotted and read several times in the past, only this time, a recent posting (two months previous) showed a new comment from a lady with some interesting points. She stated that she remembers the theme of a similar story (to the article) ‘flitting around her family’ and that one of her family members had been closely linked to the event.

Something about this ladies’ brief comment struck a chord of resemblance and intrigue with me, so I went on to ‘Google’ her name too. I was hoping to find some contact information so that I could maybe email and find out what story she had personally been exposed to and see if came from a similar source to my own.

It wasn’t contact information for the lady that came back as the top search result.

It was an Obituary Notice. Dated only two days previous.

The notice of death was not for the lady, but was in fact for her Father. I read the full notice and part of the name of the gentleman was familiar to me. Ghost story note writing truly abandoned now, I dug out the notes that my Granddad had made (on the family story) and I found the very same name - within the name of the deceased. I began to get a very strong feeling that somehow, somewhere, along the family heritage that I might be related to this lady and to the deceased, but I couldn’t quite work out how.

I telephoned my Mum to mention my research, the finding of the ladies’ note, the subsequent ‘Googling’ and then the curious match to the name of the deceased. My Mum listened, mentioned a few other family names and known relations and finally surmised that the Obituary Notice might actually be about her”Dad’s Brother”, in other words - her Uncle/ my Granddad’s brother/ my Great-Uncle!

After a long conversation and some tandem research, it turns out the lady (who made the comment on the article) is my Mum’s cousin; a cousin that she hasn’t seen for many years (after they moved to Canada) and a cousin that my sister even stayed with during the 1980s!

It did feel a bit strange telling my Mum that I found out, purely by accident, that her uncle had died, but she went on to tell me that my Granddad had also found out about one of his other brothers (they were an eleven strong family) had died by reading a local Manchester newspaper; seems we have a knack for tuning into the right communication methods, at the right time!

Despite finding out that my Great-Uncle had died, the information we found opened up so many other thought paths too:

The story that the lady had mentioned in relation to the article is far from the factual truth. However, it may well have provided me with a twist to my own fictional telling of the events; almost as though fate had decided that a Medium couldn’t help me find what I was looking for - that I had to wait and find it out myself with the help of a (recently deceased) distant family member!

My Mum and I talked for ages about the family connections and who was who and how the characters in my screenplay were related to these other family members and that they had the official story all wrong and also how I could now put them straight( I plan to contact my Mum’s cousin and update her and the rest of the family on all the information that I have found out over the years whilst researching the family story).

"....accidentally, you must sometimes get a little unseen help too."

So, after chalkboard ‘writing walls’, being turned away from Car Boot Sale – Spiritual Mediums and finding recently deceased family members, I find it difficult to accept that someone (or something) , somewhere wasn't actually  giving me a helping hand somehow!

I think you can believe in coincidences as much as you like, but someone somewhere decided to give me not only a guiding hand on a twist, but also the motivation to feel that I shouldn’t quit, that they want me to do this because you surely don’t just find these things out accidentally, you must sometimes get a little unseen help too.

As a consequence, I have finally finished the timeline on the ‘writing wall’ so the scenes are coming together now, and the information I found from those timely messages on a two year old article and a less than forty eight hour old Obituary Notice may have plugged some holes that I needed answers to.

Personally, I feel pleased that help has been sent my way, no matter its methods; however, it is probably because my Granddad (deceased of ten years) is probably itching for me to finish my screenplay already! ....... and this is his way of making me 'get on with it'!!!

xx

Anna.

#CantTameNRG

www.annaganderton.com

ImageCredits:

www.realradionorthwest.co.uk
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/hot-or-not-chal-72521
http://www.davidmcelroy.org/?p=12868

Transformers 3 - Dark of the Moon (3D iMAX)

I have a 'thing' for Kurtzman and Orci and also for Bumble Bee.
The first two wrote ‘Transformers-The Movie’, the first (and best) in the trilogy; the other is an adorable ‘Autobot’. My passions are never predictable.

When I found out that Ehren (Scream 3, Transformers-Revenge of the Fallen, The Ring) had written ‘Transformers 3- Dark of the Moon’, my stomach sank a little. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect because his 'talents' are not well known for being that of a great screen writer; Kurtzman and Orci however, are. There are some sweet parts in this movie – the relationship of Sam (Shia LaBeouf) with Bumblebee and even the character of Sam himself and his temporary failures of life (job and love life) that become switched over when he gets together with - let’s face it, one of nature’s perfectly formed women (Rosie Huntington – Whiteley) and he brings an undefeatable attitude to the table when the ‘Decepticons’ return.



I'd also go so far to say that I'm not even that big a fan of the whole 3D genre. I like it, especially when used for animated movies like ‘Coraline’ and ‘Up’, but I had found with action movies that the 3D aspect seemed to blur out some of the movement.

3D has moved on in a matter of months it seems.

The 3D aspect of Transformers 3 is extremely effective. Gone are the days of the Jaws 3D approach and the use of the 3D angle is now concentrated on depth of field and clarity of image. You get this in bucket loads with Transformers 3D.

The visual quality of this movie is beyond compare. I sat, jaw wide open for the most part of this movie. This film has an intricate quality about each scene, about each frame of the film. When the quality of visuals is this good, you can (ashamedly so) forgive some of the less than excellent writing/script that goes with it.

Michael Bay (Director) has a talent for ‘long shot’ scenes where an action sequence can appear unbroken and flows with the action of an entire event. With Transformers 3, this works brilliantly because so much can happen at one time; without your vision becoming ‘flicked’ from one shot to another. I find ‘long shots’ hold me into the moment longer, if it’s a tense moment this type of shot can actually make me ‘feel the fear’ of the situation without it being broken by a change of visual angles. There are many scenes like this during the movie, which personally intensified my relationship with the characters and the life threatening situations.

I cannot recommend this movie, for its visuals, enough. I know that a movie needs a good story line too and this has one - it just isn’t a particularly strong one and it has many predictable twists. That said, you have to enjoy the battle between good (Optimus Prime) and the bad (Decepticons and Sentinel Prime), the inevitable boy loses girl, boy gets girl back (with his manly savior of the world heroics) and above all you have to love the pure devotion that the Autobots have to Planet Earth. They are my ‘ultimate protector’ and I do wish more men were like BumbleBee – faithfully devoted, kicks ass when you feel threatened and scoops you up and under his protective wing when danger brushes your cheek. The Transformer cars in this movie just served to get this motorsport girl a little more than excited too.


I still love Kurtzman and Orci, I dislike Ehren Kruger less, I have a ‘girl crush’ on Rosie Huntington - Whiteley and I am more in love with BumbleBee than ever. Transformers 3 (3D iMAX) changed my opinions about Ehren and 3D-action movies as quickly as Optimus Prime changes from a truck to an ultimate warrior.

Tinder box for the soul ......

I usually have a real fire in my belly.

I don’t mean in the form of heartburn or indigestion - despite my desire to often eat raw, hot chillies on my cheese butty; but in the ‘I’ve got gumption’ way.
I’m struggling to sit and concentrate on ‘my screenplay and other stories’ at the moment so I took the stress relieving action that I’ve learnt and I have walked away from it: All of it.

Walked away is possibly a little over dramatic, if I’m totally honest, I’ve only just slightly turned one shoulder to it whilst keeping one eye locked on it, my hand slightly touching; keeping it safe. I am bonded to my project in a way that now sees it as a major part of my life as far as hopes, dreams and desires are concerned. I blogged earlier about whether or not this project was beginning to ‘define me’ because it always sparked an enormous amount of passion in me when discussing it. Not many other subjects were doing that, but this one has been very close to my heart for several years.

I have learnt to take a break though. When other things in my life are getting in the way of my mental freedom, I have learnt that I have to put my writing to one side. It is not simply because ‘I give up’ or that I can’t battle on through it, but because I can actually use 'reverse psychology' on my own brain. Indeed, I outwit myself!

Yes, if I tell myself to walk away, to take a break, to get myself away from whatever it is that is causing me stress, then you can guarantee that within days, even hours, I’ve convinced myself that I actually want, actually need, what it was that I walked away from.

Not only do ‘I have gumption’ but I am also well known for being ‘tenacious’. To me that always sounds like I’m a bull in a china shop, but let’s face it, it does mean I always get the job done, that I don’t give up! I think this is why I’m not afraid to take a break, to let my brain ‘breathe a while’ because I know full well that at some point the ‘tenacious me’ will out itself again.

I also know that at the moment, a possible short term move abroad might just be taking up some of that valuable 'thinking real-estate' in my mind and it’s attempting to evict all other subject-inhabitants - though I think that this will only spur me on to work harder on my project! I would need to finish it before I move as there would be little time to complete it once abroad and there is no way I could ever leave my project home alone!

I’ve also had some friendship issues that have made me melancholic. They’ve also made me revert inwards and probably forced me to judge myself in an unnecessarily harsh way. But although this has happened and it has put me off my stride with regards to my screenplay, it has thickened the urge to get another project on the go; or at least pen some notes on these new ideas. I know all too well, that the mood of my writing matches that of my own, so when I feel hurt and upset, I find solace by totally indulging myself in a project, or a character, that demands some dark, inward reflection. And so I understand that my screenplay, with its light hearted subject, becomes abstract at these times and I find myself walking away from it in order to work on something of a more 'morose genre'; letting it absorb the sombre mood.

Perhaps the fire in my belly is merely in need of a spark to rekindle its glow - Perhaps someone has a tinder box for the soul that I could use?

xx
Ag

Enthusiasm, Passion or just a bore?

My Granddad died in 2003.This was just the beginning.

In the late nineties he started researching a family story that had intrigued him from a young age. As a boy, he had been there to witness the affluent New York lawyers pulling up outside their modest Manchester home, in the "shiny black automobiles" and through family recollections he had the beginning threads of a story that down the generations has intrigued and warranted a progression of research.

I had initially helped my Granddad out in the early days, by typing up his handwritten notes onto a typewriter (yup-'typewriter' so I guess that dates the start of his project), so when he died, my Grandma gave me his folder of writings and having the 'shiny new internet' at my finger tips, I vowed to take some ownership and began where he left off.

Okay, so it's 2010, but I've worked all these years and picked this project up and down when and where able, I feel tardy with it, but for the last year I have made progress and great head way with where and what I should be doing with this story.


It appears that after a lot of research into technique and even more thought into what I want to portray, that a screenplay is the best way that I can pay service to the story. I figured this out sometime late last November, so although my attention has been on the story for some years, my focus is in relative infancy.


It's true: Wanting to write is like 'having homework for the rest of your life', because that it exactly what I have. But it isn’t like the homework that I had in school, this I want to complete. This homework I think about in my lunch hour, before I go to bed, when I get up, when I'm sat in stand-still traffic on the M6. Tiny thoughts sometimes, big brain aching conundrums at others.


So, forgive me that I talk about it, that I tweet about it, that I update my Facebook status about it; only I'm just a little bit passionate about it as a project.
I don't have a blind confidence in my writing abilities. In fact I have very little confidence at all.I just know, deep in my heart and in my every nerve and fibre that this; that this project could just be the reason for my being, and that gives me solace on even the darkest of days.


I talk to people at work, I talk to my family, I 'talk' to Twitter, and I 'talk' to Facebook about my progress' it's a ‘modern day diary’ of the ups and downs of my journey. Something that maybe-just may be of interest if and when I finish this screenplay and finally see it made for an audience to watch.


My Granddad would be so proud, so pleased with my progress on the research that he inspired me to carry out, and it is sad that he won't be here to see it in it's final film release (yes, I forever remain optimistic) But,I don't care how long this takes, how many revisions, how many scripts I have to go away and write and come back to; this - this will always be my first- The first tale that I wanted to tell. And so it has to be perfect in the end. Taking ‘No’ for an answer will not be an option; because I will not let it out of my care until it can truly take care of itself!


You've grasped my enthusiasm and I think you've sensed my passion, but what I guess I am questioning is whether or not - to those around me, that this is what is beginning to define me? I have wonderful, wonderful work colleagues who seem to gladly put up with my speedily delivered ideas and concepts on the project. When I realised the ending (which had taken four years to decide on) and excitedly pitched it to a friend, I was marvelled by the look in his eyes when I did. I saw this flash of wonder, this look that he seemed almost overwhelmed by my passion and excitement towards my revelations. I'll never forget that he gave me a look of 'consolidating agreement'. He looked straight into my eyes - His as wide as Mine.


With some people, I don’t get this response. Unfortunately it is from those, perhaps considered closest to me. I talk about the story, about my ideas about the progress I make and they are truly disinterested. I guess I have to grasp that not all people will find this 'their cup of tea', but am I wrong to think that this person should really be supporting me, really be listening, really be helping me?


I have channelled so much energy into this project that I do begin to think that I need a co-writer; not just from an ability angle but from the angle that perhaps I just need someone to talk to - to collaborate with. I know this is MY story; MY Granddad’s story, MY family's story, but as I want to share it with others, why not share my ideas with another and have them help guide it? Not having someone closer than family to share this with is perhaps what is making my thoughts meander. It is difficult to find someone to trust with what is in your head, heart and soul and for me - what is essentially my Granddad’s legacy.


So,until fresh ears refrain from perking up when I pitch this story, a 'project bore' I shall remain, and if I'm honnest, if it brings my dream to life: I'm not even sorry ;0

....maybe it was the cheese.....

The 'Ending' for my screenplay-story dawned on me over a glass of wine and, some very good, cheese on toast, in the hotel the other day!

Sometimes, solitude in a hotel bar can have it's advantages. For some reason it focuses my brain, it makes me think of the obvious instead of constantly searching for something 'surprising or clever'. Getting 'back to basics' does'nt necessarily mean 'boring'. Maybe, just maybe, the 'obvious' can be the 'surprise'.

So, now that I have an idea for my ending, what does this mean? It suggests that I know how to mold some of the characters that I have already created. The ones that have been 'living in motivational-limbo' (until I knew whether their purpose and direction is 'friend or foe') can now be reawakened.

It also means that I have sufficient momentum to carry me through every scene; I can set my character-dominoes up and have them fall precisely where I want and need them to.

Maybe it was the cheese that helped? After all, it is known for provoking 'weird dreams' - if eaten late at night - perhaps it has hidden stimuli for one's imagination.....If that's the case, I may be eating a lot more of it during this writing process.....

xx

Ag

Photo: flickr.com/photos18442024@N00/2903331494

DUG UP LIKE THIS YEAR'S POTATOES!

Yes, it's me.
I'm not paying a ghost-blogger to do it for me...but now you come to mention one...maybe...

No.

I'm getting back into writing my thoughts on my Compelling Zest blog.

I've had a little edit and update on my profile page and I've a few things I want to pop on - I've had a lot to comment on laterly so figured I had best get my blog dusted off and use this in tandem with my Twitter and Facebook accounts.

For someone not very sociable, I'm a very Social person it appears!!

Ok, so, I may jot down a random feeling a thought, a memory, opinions, comments on things I am reading or researching - if you like it, come along for the ride, if you don't, there will be plenty of stops along the way for you to alight and hop back on at a later stop....

It's good to have you along to share.....

xx
Anna

I keep finding stuff......

No matter what iron is in my fire, I have to keep adding to it........

I keep finding stuff I want to do and somehow I fail to find the time (and physical energy) to have a go at them all - I swear it's where all the headaches come from, the brain just won't shut down!!!

Forget the housework, the going to work, the homely chores, I'm talking about ALL those things that interest me, that fire me up, the stuff I don't know how to do and want to know how!

Take gardening, not a big fan of it; too impatient to watch things grow and not a clue where to start. Well, I didn't three years ago but after a bit of practise, I still don't have a clue, but I have a pretty good idea where to start and from that point I have learnt to let nature tell me what to do next. Nature lets you make mistakes and rectify them the next year - it's the best learning curve there is! It's just a pity the British weather makes for a poor classroom assistant.

Take drumming, I did it as a teenager, too busy to keep it up and no detached house to fit a kit into, well, not much changed here, but I still enjoy my drumming lessons, it's a skill I don't have and an activity I truly enjoy and I want to learn it to my highest level!

Take writing this screenplay I have started on. Too busy to write twenty four seven (More's the pity) and as a slave to my inner creativity I often find I can go days before inspiration bites and I write more. I still have a very long way to go with this project, but like with all of my passions they tend to buzz around my head like an incessant worker bee until the work is done!

Take the cross stitch I started in 2003 for my Mum and still haven't finished it! It's been to Australia and Sardegna with me, it's been worked on in sunshine and in the heart of the winter months, it's had bits redone because I made a mistake and had to rectify it (no one else would have known, but I would, seeing it hung on the wall, errors and all). But, I will finish it, when I can and preferably before I die!

Take learning Italian. Too busy to sit down and have Italian lessons during the week , so I utilise the time I have in the car (in between TomTom giving me verbal directions) with a learn Italian CD, I have a feeling I will be looking at ways of learning stuff in my sleep at this rate just to fit it all in!

Take the house and all it's redecoration jobs. My pot of ideas is bigger than the pot of gold!

Take the bespoke, designer shelving system I want to make for the living room wall and again my pot of ideas is bigger than the pot of gold and the pot of time!

Take the wood carving (well...my Grandad used to be a wood carver so I naturally think I am able!!) , not only do I want to finish the cross stitch but I want to frame it in a hand carved wood frame, one that I carved with teddy bears to match the cross stitch (or rather have to as I can't find one to buy anywhere and if I have to commission one, I'll commission it to myself!!) and it all has to be as perfect as I can possibly make it.

I have a feeling that as most people role their previous years annual leave in to the next holiday year, I will be rolling my wants and desires into my next life!! I'd like to think that all these current interests are enough to keep me entertained for the next 30 or 40 years, but I think we know I'll find more along the way......................

Right, time to get writing/sewing/carving/learning Italian/drumming/gardening (delete as appropriate according to creative flow ;0)

xx
AG